Armoured Phantom goes on sale

Rolls-Royce is pimping its insanely sumptuous Phantom flagship – with armour, no less.

Offering the highest levels of personal protection and engineered to VR7 level, the highest current international protection rating, the Phantom Armoured is indistinguishable from the standard version, inside and out. However, it features fibre composites and special-purpose steel to provide protection for the bodywork, while the glazed area is constructed from sheets of thickened bulletproof glass. A polycarbonate layer is fitted to the inside for even more passenger protection.

The Phantom’s aluminium chassis and suspension have been strengthened to cope with the additional weight of the modifications, but without compromising the 453bhp and hefty portions of torque on the standard Phantom.

Banana republic despots and paranoid businessmen will be able to order Phantom Armoured from all Rolls-Royce dealers and can tailor every aspect of the car to their own specific requirements. Optional extras are unlikely to include gold-plated AK-47s and head-sized fridges.